It is five minutes to dawn and the wind smells like freedom

October 14, 2011 -- Click here for PDF version of this statement -- It is no longer five minutes to midnight. After Arab Spring leaps to
Spain, and Greece, and on to New York’s Wall Street, it suddenly feels
like five minutes to dawn.

We no longer need assume that there is no time to stop the world going to shit. There is an opening and we are flooding into it.

We are suddenly in a moment that is not marked by exhausted routine protests that speak for no one and speak to no one.

The oppressors (our common enemies) are no longer unchallenged — or
more no longer unchallengeable. They are instead rocked backward,
confused, bewildered, furious. The billionaire mayor of New York can’t
clear a tiny park — and suddenly the question is not how to force the
occupiers out, but whether he may be forced out of power if he pursues
that course.

For so long, all of the things that leave people crying at night: the
numbing global poverty itself, the painful loneliness of atomised
non-community, the discarding of the old and the young, endless war for
dominance, global structures of empire, the ravaging of nature, the
manufacture of ignorance, intolerance and bigotry, the rape and casual
daily brutality toward women — all of these things have seemed
untouchable and permanent.

Now suddenly … a different day is approaching — where we can
increasingly see and act in in startling ways, with rippling new impact.
Ears perk up. Sights are raised. The pulse quickens. Suddenly we
recognise the faces of others — once unknown to us — animated and awake
with a common spirit. The powerful look discredited and vulnerable.

Morning is coming… Go and wake the sleeping ones.

The hope of a radically new society, of abolishing capitalism,
reveals it is far from exhausted. No, it suddenly springs from every
pore. These occupations of dozens of city squares are a wind that
heralds a coming storm.

This is a mood that produces actual revolutionary movements and dedicated militants of a new truth process.

Advanced, radical and discontented people who felt alone and isolated
— suddenly realise they are millions. Allies emerge out of shadows,
attracted by each early flame.

Networks congeal almost overnight. New thought jumps from human to
human, morphing in each passage, adapting and refining. The forms of
expression shake off the old and exhausted… A new generation invents its
language from the messaging in the air.

Let’s understand what this is. Let’s recognise where we stand. Let’s embrace the possibilities within the new.

This break in the norm reveals what has already moved into place, and
had long been building. And that revelation transforms everything —
especially because we all see it together, in common, and recognise
ourselves in that picture.

Be relentlessly impatient with this criminal system.

Be lovingly patient with each other — as we find the common language to act and transform.

Listen for the new. And grasp firmly to the truths that have so long
been hidden and denied — but that we are now speaking from center
stage.

Let’s seize the high moral ground (a precious position to hold), and
never give it up. And be aware that thugs with suits and video cameras
will be coming to snatch that ground away and portray us as fools, or
dupes, or barbarians at the gate.

Above all: Let’s consciously go for the whole thing!

The change we want is about taking the accumulated wealth,
technology, hard work, science and connections of a complex global
civilisation — and finally (finally!) putting it into the service of us
all, including the very least and previously powerless among us. It is
about the voiceless suddenly speaking, and the wealthy suddenly becoming
silent.

This is not about “budget financing”(!) but about power in the most
fundamental sense. We don’t want to tax the zillionaires of finance
capital — we need to rip their zombie hands from the throats of us
all… so we can breathe, perhaps for the first time in our lives. And so
we can change the whole direction of the world.

The “freedom” we want is not the individual license promoted by smug
Republican ideologues (the freedom of “up with me, you suck”). Instead,
we need to seek the freedom of people, together, to shape
their common world — an ethos of mutual caring and solidarity That is
the freedom (the ability and possibility) that comes when new power of
the people wrenches everything from the very few.

A revolution starts in ideas and mutual recognition. It then moves to the terrain of power.

At this moment: we can get a glimmer of how empires
break, and how armies start to unravel. They don’t die on the
battlefields, at least not at first — but in sudden re-allegiances of
the young and awakening.

We cannot “take America back” — we never had it. But we can take over our own lives, our own planet and our common future — wrenching them away from sinister and hostile forces.

This moment of occupations is not about some concept of “America”
anyway. It is global — because our society, our future and our biosphere
are all global. This wave of contagious occupations and manifestations
is about who will shape this beautiful blue orb as a whole. And we
cannot allow that to be diminished and corrupted by slogans of America
First.

The old “American dream” promised each one the ability to climb up
upon the others. This new coming dream can be about a global community
of mutual flourishing among human beings — about substituting community
for the sale of humanity.

Let’s go for the whole thing. Let’s go for the future itself. Let’s
save the only earth we have. Let’s aim to wipe out together the poverty
of the many and the suffering of the abused.

Here at dawn, let’s envision the day we want, and make that
revolutionary vision the centre of debate, for once, and perhaps from
now on.

Solidarity with Occupy Wall Street!

October 5, 2011 -- Occupy Wall Street is just about the best
thing that’s happened to America since the economic crisis first broke.
Occupation is spreading. We’re standing up and fighting back. And we’re
showing that another way of living together is possible.

We’re a movement of the underdogs. We embrace the unemployed, the
homeless, the ex-offenders, the down-and-out and the downtrodden. We
welcome those who are discriminated against, those who are outcast.
That’s what democracy is all about. And we’re building an independent
movement fighting for democracy.

* In July, the official unemployment rate was 8.2% for whites— but 16.8% for Blacks and 11.3% for Latinos

* In 2009, the median household net worth was $113,149 for whites—and $5,677 for Blacks, and $6,325 for Latinos

* In 2009, 15% of white households had zero or negative wealth—but so did 35% of Black households and 31% of Latino households

* Black men make up less than 10% of the U.S. population—but make up 35.4% of the overall prison population

We
have all sorts of folks here, people from every race, from all
religions, men and women, LGBT and straight, people of all ages coming
together to build a powerful force to oppose the greed and corruption of
Wall Street and Washington.

We didn't start yesterday. Earlier union and community
protests and occupations like Bloombergville fell on deaf ears. Now
we’re getting stronger every day. The whole world is watching: and the
unions and social justice organizations of New York City have arrived.
We invite everyone marching today to occupy or return when you can.

We know that today the banks and corporations dominate America.
We know that corporate CEOs and financial insiders collude with the
Republicans and Democrats to determine the national agenda. Together
they make the rules—and they make the profit. We pay the price. It's
time to stop it.

We need a new distribution of wealth in this country. We need to
provide jobs for all at living wages. We need free education and health
care for all. And it can be done too. We need to start by ending the
wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, bringing all the troops home, and closing
the hundreds of U.S. military bases around the world. Most importantly:
we have to change the system.

The Declaration of the Occupation of New York City adopted on
September 30 indicts corporations as responsible for joblessness,
homelessness, environmental destruction and imperialism. The
Declaration describes the damage done by the capitalist system in the US
and the rest of the world.

Wall Street is the nerve centre of global capitalism. We are here
staring the spider in the eye, but we know the problem is not the
spider—it’s the web.

Right now, we’re symbolically striking at the system’s heart here
on Wall Street. In the days that come, we need to go on to build a
movement that can transform this system into one based on true equality
and democracy. Everyone in our country—and in the world for that
matter—deserves a decent life. Standing in the way of that possibility
are the financial institutions clustered here on Wall Street. Standing
in the way is the web: capitalism.

We need to strengthen our movement. The power of this movement is
not just the individuals participating, but ties to our families and
friends, to our communities and workplaces, to our unions, schools and
religious congregations. We need to bring these groups together as a
social force and a political movement based on solidarity between the
working class and oppressed. Not their politics. Not the bankers or
bosses. Not Democrats and Republicans.

Our politics are the politics of people who recognise that
something has to change. Our movement is made up of youth without jobs
who can’t afford school. It has to be a movement of working people
who’ve lost their jobs, families who've lost their homes, and of people
of colour who never fully shared in opportunity. We are working together
to build the power to create a new democratic system and bring justice
to our society.

How amazing and exciting that we’re here. We have to learn from the Egyptians in Tahrir Square, the indignados
in the plazas of Spain and the workers of Wisconsin. Occupy Wall
Street has led to Occupy movements throughout the country. We’re part of
an international movement for democracy and social justice around the
world. We’re part of a new movement that can change history and the
direction the world’s headed. A movement that can save the planet and
its people by bringing about a different system.

Stepping up the struggle

The following editorial appeared in the Socialist Worker, newspaper of the International Socialist Organization (US)

October 12, 2011 -- Growing numbers of people identify with the
Occupy movement -- and are being inspired by its example to take action
for real change in society.

When Ben Bernanke, the United States' head banker, says he
understands why people are protesting against banks, there's two things
to say.

One, it's clear that the Occupy Wall Street protest movement has
shaken US politics with greater force than any event since Wisconsin's
upsurge against union-busting and austerity last winter.

This from the very people who engineered the bailout of Wall Street
and made sure it got approved by Congress in 2008. Democrats like Obama
and Pelosi are every bit as responsible as the free-market ideologues of
the Republican Party for government policies that put the interests of
the corporate elite first, while masses of working people bear the brunt
of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.

So those of us who supported the Occupy movement from the start and
helped organise it before it became a talking point for Democratic Party
leaders are justly suspicious of the claim that we're now all on the
same side against the bankers.

But we can also recognise that such comments show how Occupy Wall
Street and its sister actions around the country have, for once,
wrenched the spotlight away from the narrow political "debate" in
Washington, and cast it on the concerns and views of ordinary people.

Mainstream media coverage of the Occupy movement has gone from the
usual sneering contempt for protests to a grudging recognition of the
depth of frustration and anger that is being expressed through the
actions. According to MSNBC's Rachel Maddow, "[I]n the month before the Occupy Wall Street movement, there
were, to our count, 164 mentions of the phrase 'corporate greed' in the
news ... In the month since the Occupy Wall Street movement has been
underway, 1,801 mentions of that same phrase, 'corporate greed,' in the
news."

Occupy Wall Street has become a lightning rod for the accumulated
discontent in so many corners of US society -- about unemployment and
growing poverty, about the complicity of political leaders in carrying
out an attack on working people's living standards, about a social
crisis that is hitting especially hard in minority communities, about
the vast and growing gap between the haves and have-nots in the richest
country on earth.

The Occupy movement isn't only reflecting people's ideas, either. It
has tapped into the widespread sentiment that society needs to
change -- and it's time to do something about it.

That's an attitude that can be heard over and over again at Occupy
protests: Finally, someone is taking action. Thus, the movement has
spread from a core of mainly young activists who began the protests and
encampment in New York City to speak for much larger numbers of people
and broader layers of society.

The Occupy slogan "We are the 99 per cent" gives expression to an elemental sense that there are sides in this struggle, that our side has been silent for too long, and we're finally finding our collective voice.

In accomplishing this in just a few weeks, the Occupy movement
already represents a great step forward in the struggle for a better
world. And it offers hope for future steps forward, as more and more
people are inspired by what they see--and join the fight.

The Occupy movement shows how quickly things can change in volatile political times.

The kickoff demonstration came on September 17 in New York, when more
than 500 people gathered for a rally and then established the
encampment in Zuccotti Park, rechristened Liberty Plaza in honour of
Cairo's Tahrir (Liberation) Square, with its daily general assemblies
that have continued ever since.

Organisers were disappointed by this initial turnout, but several factors helped Occupy Wall Street broaden its support. One was a September 22 "Day of Outrage" demonstration the day
after Georgia death row prisoner Troy Davis was executed. Some 2000
angry protesters marched from Union Square to the Liberty Plaza
encampment -- thus, establishing the practice that the Occupy movement
would become a focal point for many struggles.

Along the same lines, Occupy activists reached out to labour, offering
solidarity for local battles such as a strike at the famous Central
Park Boathouse restaurant. In turn, major New York City unions
recognised the importance of Occupy Wall Street and endorsed it -- setting
the stage for a labour-led demonstration on October 5 that brought out
tens of thousands of people.

For one thing, while the movement's slogan "We are the 99 per cent"
wonderfully expresses the determination to confront the tiny minority
that monopolises wealth and power in this society, it's also crystal
clear that the 99 per cent aren't all on the same side.

There's the police, for example. With attacks on Occupy encampments
in Boston and Atlanta, as in New York City over the past
weeks, the "boys in blue" showed which side they're on -- and it's not
the 99 per cent.

Through their actions, the police are providing a fast education to
anyone who believes they can be appealed to -- for example, the groups of
activists who escaped being trapped on the Brooklyn Bridge on October 1
and chanted, "Join us, you're one of us."

In reality, though most individual cops come from working-class
backgrounds, the role of the police as an institution in capitalist
society "puts them directly at odds with the aspirations and needs of
the rest of the class", as Amy Muldoon wrote for SocialistWorker.org. Their job is not to "protect and serve" everyone in society, but
the same ruling minority that the Occupy movement is challenging.

Even among those who have mobilised for the Occupy protests, there are political divisions that must not be ignored.

For example, right-wing libertarians who support Republican
presidential candidate Ron Paul have turned up at Occupy encampments,
especially in the South. They are critical of the same financial
institutions that the Occupy Wall Street struggle has focused on -- but
their objections come from the right. Paul supporters want to eliminate regulations on the financial elite -- which would allow the 1 per cent to grow even richer.

To consider such bigotry part of our fight would make a mockery of
the commitment to equality and democracy at the heart of the Occupy
struggle -- and it would drive a wedge between the movement and many of
the people who have the most to contribute to it: immigrants, African
Americans and those fighting the right's reactionary agenda, to name a
few.

So the Occupy movement doesn't represent all of the "99
per cent". But it certainly does give voice to a large majority of people
in society -- both their grievances and the hope for an alternative to
the status quo.

The politicisation of protesters and their determination to take a
stand is tangible at the occupations, where both people new to activism
and those with experience in other movements are part of the organising.

But importantly, these same features can be felt beyond the
encampments. In Portland, Oregon, for example -- the site of one of the
largest Occupy movements outside of New York City -- one Socialist Worker
contributor says her workplace, in a building that overlooks the
encampment, is constantly abuzz with discussions about the struggle.
Each march past the building, she says, brings her co-workers to the
windows to find out what's happening -- along with hours of political
discussions afterward.

This is being repeated in different ways around the country. Occupy
Wall Street was launched by a core of activists, many of them already
committed socialists, anarchists or radicals of various kinds. But much
larger numbers of people now identify with the movement, even if they
have little connection with the actual activities of the occupations,
perhaps because of job or family responsibilities.

What's more, the national attention being paid to the Occupy movement
is infusing existing struggles with a new sense of relevancy and
confidence. People committed to many different movements are being
inspired by the success of the Occupy activists in making their voices
heard -- and are sure to follow suit themselves.

Of course, this intense interest and support is precisely why leaders
of the Democratic Party are suddenly trying to cast themselves as
sympathisers with the struggle against Wall Street greed.

Our question is simple: Where were Democrats like Barack Obama and
Nancy Pelosi when the Wall Street bankers looted the economy? The
answer: They were part of the problem, from the deregulation of the
financial system accomplished chiefly during the presidency of Democrat
Bill Clinton, to the failure of the Obama administration over the past
two years to hold the bankers and hedge fund operators responsible for
the disaster they caused.

That's the real attitude of the Democratic Party toward the Occupy
struggle -- not the empathetic statements of Barack Obama at a press
conference, but the orders of Democratic mayors to clear the streets and
parks.

Many participants in Occupy struggles recognise this -- but there is an
organisational weakness to the movement that gives a greater opening to
such forces.

In many of the Occupy encampments, including New York City, the core
activists involved in the day-to-day organising are critical of
Democrats for being complicit in a system that has given overwhelming
wealth and power to the 1 per cent. But the commitment of many to a
particular strategy of refusing to formulate concrete demands -- on the
grounds that this would either limit the appeal of the Occupy actions or
legitimise economic and political structures they oppose -- actually
opens a door to the Democrats.

If our movement doesn't articulate its own demands, others will have
the opportunity to fill them in for us. The basic elements of what the
Occupy struggle stands for are clear and supported by the vast majority
of people involved -- tax Wall Street and the rich; regulate corporate
power; use taxpayers' money to create jobs and meet social needs, not
bail out the banks or fund wars; defend workers' right to form unions;
and so on.

Such demands need to be championed forthrightly. As Doug Singsen wrote, "We can be a model of cooperation and empowerment" and still be specific and explicit about what we want.

So what comes next? The Occupy movement has shone a spotlight on the
greed and corruption of the Wall Street elite -- and more generally on the
inequalities and institutionalised injustices of US society. We need
to keep dramatising those issues for the millions of people who are now
watching the protests closely.

Part of the commitment to continue this effort will now mean
preparing for the threat of further police repression. So far,
crackdowns like the one that took place in Boston or the assaults in New
York City have been the exception. The authorities, aware of the
popularity of the protests, have avoided a frontal attack in many cases.

But they will continue looking for opportunities to gain the upper
hand. Occupy activists need to be aware of this threat, with an
understanding that large numbers and even wider support have always been
the best defense against repression for any movement.

In most occupations, proposals to reach out to other struggles have
been met with enthusiastic support, at least from the majority of
participants.

This is because the connections between the different fights are so
obvious. Anyone who is angry about the bailout of the Wall Street
bankers will know who is paying the price -- workers in both the private
and public sector, those with jobs and without. The brutal police
tactics used against protesters are just a taste of what happens day in
and day out in the Black community -- which shows why the Occupy movement
must be anti-racist.

By the same token, it's important for every movement and struggle to
recognise that Occupy Wall Street has changed the political climate and
opened up a space for bolder action. There are willing and able allies
to be found at the Occupy encampments -- for the struggle against war and
against racism, for a sustainable environment and for LGBT equality, and
many more issues besides.

In particular, Occupy Wall Street has created tremendous new
possibilities in the labour movement. Union members can go beyond being
sympathisers with the struggle and organise their co-workers to take part
in protests. It is also crucial for Occupy activists to reach out to
labour and offer their solidarity, especially in providing support for
the upsurge of union battles around the country.

Many people involved in the Occupy struggle have been inspired to
describe this as "our Tahrir Square" or "our movement of the squares,"
like in Greece. This is true to an extent -- Occupy Wall Street and the
similar actions it inspired are providing a place for people fed up with
business as usual to come together and take a stand.

But we also need to know what the Occupy movement is not -- yet. Tahrir
Square during the Egyptian revolution was not just an occupation, but a
mass mobilisation that was the culmination of years of organising,
including militant working-class struggles. Likewise, in Greece, the
movement of the squares came after a string of general strikes and a
youth-led rebellion against police brutality not long before that.

Occupy Wall Street has electrified many thousands of people and is
bringing together the forces that can be part of struggles on another
scale, as in Greece or Egypt. But whether those forces develop depends a
lot on what activists do now.

It's time to step up the struggle. In every city and town, there are
teachers who are under attack, foreclosures mounting, instances of
police violence. The Occupy movement can be a part of responding.

We want to build the occupations and defend them against police
attack. And we also want to build a political space that goes beyond the
occupations -- a new resistance that brings the spirit of the Occupy
movement to workplaces, campuses and communities throughout society.